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Staton, Meredith, 2010 April 7

Biographical / Historical

Meredith Staton was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1938. He moved to the Brooklyn
neighborhood of Crown Heights in his twenties. Staton served his country in the Vietnam
War and as a United States Postal Service employee at home. He has been the Captain
of the Auxiliary Police Unit for the 77th Precinct and served on Community Board Eight.
He is a proponent of securing landmark status for features of the neighborhood and
was vocal in how the community reacted to the Atlantic Yards project and how Crown
Heights was redistricted. Statton is a husband and father, as well.

Scope and Contents

Meredith Staton begins the interview with a brief, recent history of the Crown Heights
neighborhood in Brooklyn, starting in the late 1800s. He points out the shift in the
local demographics into what he calls an "integrated neighborhood." He speaks at length
on community involvement by way of his volunteer position as Auxiliary Captain for
the 77th Precinct of the New York Police Department. Staton explains the redistricting
of Crown Heights into North and South. He discusses his feelings on war in general
when prompted to talk about his service time in Vietnam. Staton focuses on the importance
of education and resourcefulness of this era's urban youth, and urges them to understand
the history of subjugation and segregation for African Americans and immigrants of
color. He briefly recalls the historic events of Nelson Mandela's visit to Crown Heights
in 1990 and the factors of the 1991 riot and his role in terms of security. Interview
conducted by Floyya Richardson, Treverlyn Dehaarte, and Alex Kelly.

Conditions Governing Access and Use

Access to the interview is available onsite at the Brooklyn Historical Society's Othmer
Library. Use of the oral histories other than for private study, scholarship, or research
requires the permission of BHS. For assistance, contact library@brooklynhistory.org.

Subject Names

Cato, Gavin

Mandela, Nelson

Staton, Meredith

Subject Organizations

Brooklyn Children's Museum

City University of New York. Medgar Evers College

Community Board No. 8 (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)

New York (N.Y.). Police Department

Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford-Stuyvesant History